Music City Bowl: Minnesota(18) vs. Virginia(55)
Minnesota was second in the country in rushing yards per game, riding the legs of Laurence Maroney and Gary Russell. The pair combined for 2400 yards this season and 28 rushing touchdowns. Maroney, the consensus All-American ran for over 1000 yards for his third straight season and is currently second all-time at Minnesota. He is coming off an ankle injury which limited him in the final two games but should likely go in the bowl game. Russell was second in scoring in the Big Ten. At quarterback, Brian Cupito will pilot the offense. Cupito is coming off his second solid season at the helm and will be looking to add to his 15 touchdowns against the Cavaliers. He was sacked only 3 times this season, a tribute to the strength of the line that protects both him and the running game.

Defense has been scary for the Gophers. They give up more than 400 yards per game and forced only 13 turnovers all season. If the Gophers can control the ball on offense for long stretches, perhaps the defense won't need to spend much time on the field.

Virginia counters with a offense led by the pair of Marques Hagans and Wali Lundy. Hagans has been inconsistent at quarterback but it is hard to succeed when you have been sacked 31 times on the season. The senior topped 2000 yards for the second straight season but his 11 interceptions were not helpful to the team. Lundy led the team in rushing but with numbers far down from last season. Junior Deyon Williams received honorable mention in the ACC at receiver. He had the 5th most receiving yards in the conference.

Hagans and Lundy are protected by one of the best names in college football, D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Ferguson was named to the All-ACC first team at offensive tackle. The senior is highly regarded as one of the best offensive linemen in college football and will be an asset to a number of teams in the NFL, probably going in the middle of the first round to a strong passing team. He has started all 48 games of his career at Virginia, the most ever by a Cavalier.

The Virginia defense gave up 368 yards a game this season which combined with the Minnesota defense, means we are in for a shootout. The top players on defense this season were linebacker Kai Parham and cornerback Marcus Hamilton. Hamilton finished second on the team in tackles and led the team and conference in interceptions with five. He was named to the second team All-ACC while Parham went on the first team. Parham was the team leader in tackles and sacks and his 8.5 sacks were fifth in the conference.

These games without defense are always hard to call but Minnesota's offense should have an easier time of it thanks to the strength of their line and running game. Virginia will most likely score, but unless they somehow can control the ball for lengths of time, Maroney and the rest of the Gophers will run all over them.

MRI Predicts: Minnesota Confidence factor: 77.67%, 24 out of 28

Sun Bowl: Northwestern(39) vs. UCLA(40)
Northwestern will bring a high powered offense to the field when it takes on UCLA in what is now almost a mini-Rose Bowl. Senior quarterback Brett Basanez led the conference in passing yards with 3206 and set two all-time records at Northwestern in the process. He became the school's leader in passing yards in a season and passing yards in a career this season on his way to All-Big Ten first team honors and the Offensive Player of the Year award. If he scrambles for 36 yards against the suspect UCLA defense, he will become the first player in Division 1-A history with 10,000 passing yards and 1000 rushing yards over their career. Just as he is graduating, Northwestern is gaining a superior rusher in freshman Tyrell Sutton. Sutton finished second in the conference in rushing on his way to Freshman of the year honors. He ran up almost 1400 yards on his way to 16 rushing touchdowns and selection to the All-Big Ten second team.

What little defense Northwestern has is led by senior linebacker Tim McGarigle. McGarigle had 139 tackles this season to lead the team. His two sacks, one interception and two fumble recoveries were enough to earn him All-Big Ten second team honors.

UCLA counters with its own big offense led by the two Drews. Maurice Drew had over 160 all-purpose yards per game on his way to All-American honors this season. That included 900 rushing yards and 400 receiving yards. Drew scored 17 total touchdowns this season on his way to being named second team All-Pac-10. He is joined on that team by his senior quarterback Drew Olson. Olson was the second rated passer in the Pac-10 this season and finished second only to Heisman finalist Matt Leinart in yardage. He threw for 31 touchdowns while only throwing three interceptions all season. He finished with a poor game against USC though when he failed to throw for over 200 yards for only the second game this season. Bettering the awards heralded on his teammates were those of Marcedes Lewis. Lewis was named to several All-American teams while also being named to the first team All-Conference squad. He hauled in 741 yards of passes and scored 10 times, breaking multiple school records for the tight end position. Over his career he has broken every school record for the tight end position and is high on the list for receivers overall.

Another team with holes on defense, the Bruins are led by senior linebacker Spencer Havner. Havner led the team in tackles and interceptions this season. With his two sacks and two fumble recoveries, Havner earned a place on the second team All-Pac-10 team.

Another shootout in the works, you would have to guess that the team that scores last is going to win this game. It seems strange to say, given UCLA's record, but Northwestern might have the better weapons on offense. If the Wildcats score touchdowns consistently, they may be able to control this game with the running game of Sutton more than the Bruins can do with Drew. Whoever ends up the winner, this game should be a burner, and not just because of the weather in El Paso.

MRI Predicts: Northwestern Confidence factor: 55.49%, 4 out of 28

Independence Bowl: South Carolina(43) vs. Missouri(42)
Missouri's offense is driven off the one man show of quarterback Brad Smith. Smith led the team in passing yards with over 2000 and also was the Big XII leader in rushing, gaining over 1000 yards on the ground for the second time in his career. He is the all-time leader in total offense in the conference and is the only player in history to gain over 2000 yards through the air and 1000 on the ground twice in a career. All combined, he hold 59 different records across Missouri, the Big XII and the NCAA. Smith will have his hands full against the toughened South Carolina defense and will have to count on his supporting cast more than he is used to.

Missouri features a tough secondary led by junior David Overstreet. Overstreet was the team leader in tackles and tied for the lead in interceptions. He also recovered three fumbles on a season which saw him earn honorable mention All-Conference honors.

Steve Spurrier's first year at South Carolina can be seen as almost a miracle. The Gamecocks, picked no better than 4th in their division, finished tied for second, and that was without the weapons that Spurrier likes in his offense. Without a quarterback to run his scheme, the Ol' Ball Coach managed to slot sophomore Blake Mitchell in that spot and he quickly hooked up with freshman Sidney Rice. Together, the pair reached the end zone 12 times this season with Mitchell connecting for three more to other receivers. Rice rolled up almost 1000 yards receiving on his way to being named to the All-Conference Freshman team and first team All-Conference overall.

South Carolina's defense is much improved over last season and that is the main reason they are in this bowl game. After a tough start, the defense helped to pave the way to winning 5 of their last six games and kept them in a very difficult game against rival Clemson. The Gamecocks are led by sophomore safety Ko Simpson. Simpson led the team in tackles on his way to being picked as All-Conference and being mentioned on several All-American squads. Look for Simpson to play up against Smith and the Missouri offense.

Spurrier took home coach of the year honors in the SEC for the sixth time this season despite being down on personnel. The Gamecocks will need his coaching expertise in bowl games to lead them to victory against the very good Brad Smith. Smith will need to look to his team for help including his very good, young tight end, Chase Coffman. If the South Carolina defense can stop Smith, they have a chance, despite their lack of scoring during the season. If Smith breaks away too often, this one will be all Tigers.

MRI Predicts: Missouri Confidence factor: 55.49%, 3 out of 28